210 THE SNOW BUNTING. 



black. The head, neck, and under part of the body, are 

 white, the head being sometimes spotted with yellowish brown. 

 The back and rump are black ; the feathers of the back are 

 edged with white, and those of the shoulder and rump with 

 brownish yellow, darker in spring than in summer. The first 

 row of pen feathers are half white, and black towards the 

 point ; the others are white, except those which lie upon the 

 last three pen feathers, which are black, with a border of yel- 

 lowish brown. The tail is forked; the three first feathers 

 being white, with a black stripe at the point ; the following 

 four black, edged with yellow. 



The female is somewhat smaller : the head and upper part 

 of the neck are white, with a mixture of yellow or cinnamon 

 brown ; and spots of similar colour form a kind of broken band 

 across the white breast. The young, which may be caught in 

 winter, are known by the dark brown beak, and the back of 

 the same colour, bordered with greyish white. The young 

 male is always speckled with yellowish brown at the back of 

 the head ; the young female has yellow cheeks, and spots of 

 the same colour on the breast. 



Observations. In severe winters, these birds may be met 

 with in Germany, from December till May, especially in the 

 north, where they even approach the villages. If attention 

 were paid to their movements, they might be observed every- 

 where in March on their road home ; and when snow falls, 

 might be seen on the highways, and in the fields, in company 

 with Larks. They may be caught with horse-dung, covered 

 with limed twigs ; or on a spot which has been cleared from 

 snow, and strewed with oats. I kept a pair, which were 

 allowed to range the room, for six years, on' the ordinary paste ; 

 if confined in a cage, they must be fed on oats, millet, poppy, 

 hemp, or linseed. They are fond of bathing ; and are very 

 restless birds, especially during the night. Their cry is clear 

 and loud, resembling a whistle; their song is interrupted, 

 consisting of twittering notes, mixed with high noisy ones, 

 gradually descending in the scale, and others, more like a loud 

 broken whistle. It is, however, not disagreeable. They 

 must be kept cool, as they are unable to bear even a moderate 

 degree of heat. 



ADDITIONAL. This bird has been variously called the Tawny, 

 Mountain, and Snow Bunting ; also the Snowflake, Snow-fowl 



